Vector Kids was designed with the belief that students can strengthen math skills through interactive technology. The site includes many interactive math activities to practice basic computation skills, fractions, and algebra. Also included are 2 basic skills activities for counting coins and learning U.S. Capitals. Kids will enjoy the Math Invaders game that offers practice with multiplication and division.

In the Classroom

Introduce the site on your interactive whiteboard or projector. Then allow students to explore on their own. Share a link to the site on your class website or blog for students to practice at home. Practice with the flashcards as an alternative to traditional hand-held cards. Use this fabulous practice site in your math and social studies lessons.

This site contains many visual explanations of Math topics including interactive practice activities. Each explanation begins with a definition of the topic (such as adding or subtracting fractions), then moves on to practicing the skill with the interactive pieces. Practice activities at the end of each topic are very visually appealing and will appeal to most students. One of the most useful portions of the site is the glossary which contains definitions of many Math terms along with examples of the terms in use.

In the Classroom

This site would be useful for students to practice skills already learned; however, the explanations are not in-depth enough for beginning to learn concepts. Create a link on classroom computers or in the computer lab to use as practice. Use the glossary as a resource on your interactive whiteboard or projector when definitions are needed for math terms. Provide a link on your class website or blog to the glossary for students to access at home. Display the site on your interactive whiteboard, choose a subject such as adding/subtracting fractions, then click the link titled "topic" and choose the final item in the sequence - in this instance it is an activity called The Small Flood. These activities are perfect for whole-class practice in each subject.

This site offers a vast array of resources and information for working with Fibonacci Numbers, Golden Section Numbers, and the Golden String. Although the site design is "plain vanilla," the content is quite good. Be sure to check out the quick introduction page mentioned at the beginning of the site to find information on Fibonacci in nature along with images and activities. Links to activities are clearly marked with a pencil icon for quick access. Also included is an in-depth biography of Leonardo of Pisa who became known as Fibonacci in his later years. Students will love some of the number tricks found on the site under the Mathematical Magic of Fibonacci Numbers.

In the Classroom

Share the site on your interactive whiteboard or projector; then allow students to explore the site on their own or in small groups. Provide the site as a resource to students when studying famous Mathematicians. Present the first portion of the Mathematical Magic to students and challenge them to find out why it works. Provide this link on your class website for additional practice outside of the classroom. INvite students to create highly visual Fibonacci online posters using GlogsterEDU, reviewed here.

This site offers a variety of graph paper to be downloaded in PDF form. Graph categories include squares, triangular, hexagonal, circular, brick, and note-taking. Within each category are several options. Be sure to scroll down the site to read the helpful tips before printing any of the graph paper. Note that the pdfs will also display on an interactive whiteboard for students to graph, draw, and more!

In the Classroom

Save the link to this site for easy access to any type of graph paper or grid you may need throughout the school year. Provide students the link through your class website or blog so that they can access graph paper to use at any time, including for homework. Print out copies of graphs to provide for students. Art teachers will find these grids and geometric patterns useful for teaching about fonts, design principles, and tessellations. Open a pdf on your interactive whiteboard for students to graph using the whiteboard pens or highlighters. You can even use the hexagon grids for students to create "quilt" designs to explore color schemes and repeated patterns. Have students construct geometric figures using various grids to demonstrate area and other geometry concepts on interactive whiteboard.

Are you continually looking for math center ideas? As the title suggests, this site provides a lengthy list of simple math centers. The ideas could easily be tailored to grade level and ability as needed. The site is divided up by math strands of Numbers and Equations, Geometry, Patterns, and Measurement.

In the Classroom

Share this site with others in your building and/or grade level and brainstorm other activities that can be added to the list. Encourage student choice by making 2 or 3 suggestions available at each center to allow students to choose the activity that appeals to him/her the most.

This site offers many links to information about Snowflake Bentley and other resources for studying snow crystals. Wilson (Snowflake) A. Bentley is credited with the discovery that no two snowflakes are alike. His research and studies on snowflakes were conducted in the small Vermont town of Jericho. Snowflake pioneered the science of photographing snow crystals by attaching a microscope to his camera. The most in-depth section of the site offers resources to learn more about snowflakes such as an educational unit on snowflakes, computer recreations of snowflakes and math sites studying patterns and symmetry.

In the Classroom

Use this site as the starting point for individual or group projects about famous pioneers, weather research, or famous characters from books. This site is a perfect addition to any winter activities. Have cooperative learning groups investigate a specific section of this site and share their findings on your class wiki. Not comfortable with wikis? Have no wiki worries - check out the TeachersFirst's Wiki Walk-Through.

This site is part of the Mathtrain.com Project and was created to host student-created math video lessons all in one place. It was created by Mr. Marcos and his students at Lincoln Middle School in Santa Monica, CA. Videos are searchable by topic or by most viewed, most recent, or most discussed. The site is highly interactive and has an option to subscribe to their free podcast through ITunes. In addition to the student-created videos, there are also teacher-created videos with explanations on different math topics. Most videos are under 2 minutes in length making them perfect to use for introduction or review with different math topics. This site runs in conjunction with mathtrain.com.

In the Classroom

Choose a student-created video to use as an introduction for a new math topic. For example, when working with multi-step equations, show one of the student's videos on the site on your interactive whiteboard as an example of how one student solved the problem. Use this as a springboard to classroom discussions on problem solving equations. There are several videos on the site with this topic, so a new video can be shown each day as examples of different problem solving methods.
Use the student examples in your classroom to demonstrate how students can explain different math topics, then create your own explanatory video or audio presentations. Have students create podcasts using a site such as PodOmatic (reviewed here). Or challenge students to create a video and share using a site such as SchoolTube (reviewed here). Post student work to your classroom website or blog for students to use at home for review.

This site offers practice in estimating skills through different visual comparisons. Problems are available in counting, length and area. Two comparisons are shown and then selection will be made based on the question posed with the problem. Hints are available and there are two different levels of difficulty available. Tabs are also included with information for the learner, activity help, and information for instructors. Be sure to check out the information for instructors which include suggestions on how to use in the classroom, an activity sheet, links to standards, and other similar resources.

In the Classroom

Print the exploration questions found on the instructor tab for students to complete. Display activities on your interactive whiteboard or projector as a 5 minute time filler to practice estimation skills.

Check out this highly interactive site that offers a wealth of math activities, printables, and more for elementary students of all ages. Students will enjoy the many different Math games such as Fact Worms (basic facts), A Lucky Place (place value), and Jelly Golf (fractions). Main topics include: Counting & Cardinality, Number & Operations, Operations & Algebraic Thinking, Measurement & Data, and Geometry. Interactives may be used without registering on the site; however, registration allows scores to be compiled and posted against other players. Be sure to check out the interactives such as Venn Diagrams as well as printables, teacher's guides, articles and seasonal resources. Activities have also been matched up to North Carolina Mathematics Standards.

In the Classroom

The interactives are perfect to use on interactive whiteboards or projectors. Use activities as an introduction to new units such as making change, counting on the number line, or recognizing numbers shown with base 10 blocks. Save this on your desktop on all of your classroom computers. List this link on your classroom website or blog. This is excellent enrichment and/or advancement for gifted students. It could also be used for extra practice for struggling students. This site is definitely one to save and revisit often.

This website can generate random, thought provoking math facts. Or, it can be searched by type of math and level of fact difficulty. While most math content is high school level, some of the easier problems may be used with seventh and eighth grades. The search option appears to save time if you are looking for a specific variety of math such as calculus. Although this site is rather "plain vanilla" and does include some unobtrusive ads, it is definitely worth adding to your math collection!

In the Classroom

Use this type of fact as a class warm-up exercise or bell ringer activity to have students get actively engaged in learning from the moment they enter your classroom. Or, use it as a Fun Friday Math Fact activity. Assign students into small groups or partners to "solve" a math fact. Additionally, many of these facts could be turned into mini-math research project. Have students investigate this site independently and share their findings with the class by creating an interactive online poster ("glog") using Glogster EDU, reviewed here.

This is a one stop shop for SMART Board (interactive whiteboard) math lessons. All information and activities found on this site have been created by the site's owner Harvey Almarode a retired education professor from James Madison University. The site contains pre-made SMART lessons, web resources and links to SMART professional development. Lessons can be found and downloaded on all math topics.

These lessons are created for the SMART Board so SMART Notebook software is needed to run the lessons. If you don't have SMART Notebook the lessons can be viewed using SMART Notebook Express found at http://express.smarttech.com/#. The site also sells a flash drive with the lessons loaded on it, but you don't HAVE to buy anything.

In the Classroom

If you have a SMART Board and you teach math, you will want to download these lessons. Use the lessons to make your teaching more interactive and meaningful. Use the lesson in a whole group setting or load them on classroom computers and use them as centers. Be sure to check out the professional development link to learn more about SMART Board use.

This applet provides great opportunities to explore experimental and theoretical probabilities by changing the area of the colored regions of the circle. When a section is added it reduces the other sections by an equal amount in order to add the new sector. When this occurs, the probability that that particular color will be landed on will change. The number of sections of the circle can be changed from 1 to 12, as each spin is made, the color is recorded along with the percentage of time each color has appeared.

Be sure to visit the learner section of the site which contains a nice description of probability and how it is used in the real world. The instructor section also has a lot of valuable information including links to standards and textbooks, classroom information, and related resources. In addition, there is a link to a printable sheet of exploration questions to be used with the site.

In the Classroom

Introduce this site on your interactive whiteboard or projector. Then have students explore this site independently or in small groups to complete the exploration questions. Create a link on classroom or lab computers for students to explore the site independently. Create a link on your classroom website or blog for students to explore the site at home. Have students create their own probability circles and record results of spins, then compare with classmates' findings.

This site provides practice with creating and exploring tessellations. Choices are provided to use triangles, rectangles, or hexagons. Once a shape is chosen, the corner can be stretched to create a new shape. Click a button and that shape is converted into a tessellation in front of your eyes! Choices are also provided for different colors within the shapes to enable visualization of how the pattern is created.

The learner portion of the site provides a written explanation of tessellations and information on how they are found in the real world. Be sure to visit the instructor link on the website for information on classroom use, links to standards, links to similar resources and to print an exploration questions worksheet.

In the Classroom

Use this site as an anticipatory set or "activator" to introduce a unit or lesson on tessellations on a projector or interactive whiteboard. It relates well during study of flips, turns, and rotations as well as visual thinking. Introduce this site and then have students complete the exploration questions independently or in small groups. After students become familiar with tessellations, use examples on the site and have students create their own tessellations.

This site provides practice with exploring area and perimeter by either allowing the computer to randomly draw a shape on a grid or by creating a space of your own on the grid. Choices are given to allow for questions about area or perimeter, or for both. To check an answer, simply click on the "check answer" button for immediate feedback. Sessions can be scored, or scoring can be turned off to allow for easier exploration. The learner portion of the site provides a quick explanation of how objects can have similar areas but much different perimeters. The instructor portion provides links to standards, some textbook links, a printable with exploration questions, classroom discussion information, and links to similar resources.

In the Classroom

Introduce this site on your interactive whiteboard or projector. Then have students explore this site independently or in small groups to complete the exploration questions provided on the site. Have students create their own representations similar to the ones found on the site to be solved by classmates. Create a link on classroom computers to be used as a center. Create a link on your classroom website or blog for students to practice at home.

This site provides many resources for math teachers of all grades and includes lesson plans, articles, classroom and administrator questions and answers, and helpful links - all located under the "helpful tool" tab at the top of the site. Click to find elementary resources, algebra, calculus, and other "basic math." Free webinars are also available within the site. Math Solutions was founded by Marilyn Burns, who is known as one of the foremost experts in elementary math instruction.
Although much of the website is devoted to materials and Professional Development for sale, there are many resources available for free that are extremely helpful for classroom teachers. One such resource is the classroom lessons portion. Lessons are in ready to print PDF format making them easy to review and use for planning. Sample classroom conversations are often included along with samples of student work and suggestions for use in the classroom. This site also sells many resource materials, so links to these materials are included for alternative resources within the lesson. No need to buy, however! Teachers can sign up to receive the free monthly newsletter containing information about new materials on the Math Solutions site.

In the Classroom

Take advantage of the free lesson plans; also search for plans in grades higher and lower that can be modified to meet your students' needs. Display student work included with the lesson plans on your interactive whiteboard or projector as conversation starters in your classroom - allow students to discuss other students' work to increase understanding of concepts.

This site provides good practice for higher level geometry skills, such as applying formulas, Pythagorean theorem, and other knowledge to find the area of geometric shapes. The idea of the activity is that the player is a mummy who has been prematurely entombed in a pyramid and must find his way out by solving geometry puzzles and building a path across the voids in the building. No registration is required on the site; however, teachers may create a free account to add student information and save scores. Be sure to check out the Achievements section that provides information on math skills practiced in the game.

In the Classroom

Introduce this site on your interactive whiteboard or projector and have a student navigate a demonstration. Then have students explore this site independently or in small groups. Provide this link on your class website for students to access at home. Consider setting up an account to use the site as a formative assessment during geometry units.

This site has been created as a resource for 4th to 8th graders. A list of math concepts is offered with links to resources. Topics include whole numbers, decimals, data, fractions and many more. After choosing a topic such as whole numbers, you are linked to a comprehensive list of topics within that strand. Each topic includes a detailed explanation often including illustrations and examples. This site is virtually an online dictionary of math topics covered in 4th-8th grade.

In the Classroom

Display on the interactive whiteboard or projector when introducing or reviewing content in mathematics. Provide this link on your class website for students to use at home if they get confused on a particular math concept.

Find great math resources on this free site on countless topics. Click each resource to find sites useful on individual computers or projected on a whiteboard screen. Be sure to test out each interactive prior to using with a class, as some require Flash or other programs. Find great games about Numbers and Operations, Algebra, Geometry, Probability, and Money. Be aware of the icons next to the resource for the required plug ins to use. click on an activity and then explore the tabs above. Click the "Learner" tab to view information about the topic. Click "Help" for information on how to use the activity. Find resources in the "Instructor" tab. There is a wealth of material here, so be sure to check it out!

In the Classroom

Use these resources for review and to reinforce concepts from class. Create teams of students who complete the activity taking turns on a whiteboard or with individual computers. Use the activity as a lead in to the topic of the day. Ask students what they notice about the activity and the general rules that they notice about the topic. Provide this link on your class website for students to use at home for extra practice, enrichment, or to try some new advanced topics.

Practice math skills painlessly with this multi-level playground of interactive activities which coincides with the Houghton Mifflin Math textbooks. Students can select the appropriate grade level (K-6) and begin to explore the offerings - ranging from collections of virtual manipulatives to brainteasers to test-taking strategies. Most links (playground activities) bring up a list of topic areas to choose from. Even if you don't use Houghton-Mifflin in your classroom, this is a great resource for additional practice, interactives, and more.

In the Classroom

Share the virtual manipulatives on your interactive whiteboard or projector. Be sure to list this link on your class website for students to access both at home and in the classroom. If you are going to use this site as a math learning center, put direct shortcuts to activities on your computers. Have older students create their own brain teasers and share them on your class wiki. Not comfortable with wikis? Have no wiki worries - check out the TeachersFirst's Wiki Walk-Through.

Houghton Mifflin's Kids page offers activities linked to textbook chapters (from Houghton Mifflin's Mathematics), brain teasers, and a section on test-taking strategies that features tips specific to math problems. Be aware some of the interactives require an older version of Shockwave. So test out the site before sharing it with your students.

In the Classroom

This site would be especially useful for teachers using the textbook, but the activities have general applicability as well. If you use this series, be sure to share this link on your class website for students to use at home for additional practice. All activities could be used in any elementary math class. Use your interactive whiteboard or projector to share a daily brainteaser appropriate for your grade level. Have students work with a partner to solve the brainteasers and create their own.